AAP to Release Second Punjab Assembly Poll Candidate List on Thursday

The Aam Aadmi Party is convening its Political Affairs Committee to finalize the second list of candidates for the Punjab Assembly elections, with potential changes to include new faces and the dropping of some sitting MLAs.

Upcoming Candidate List Announcements

The second list of Aam Aadmi Party candidates for the Punjab Assembly elections may be released on Thursday evening. The party has convened a meeting of its highest decision-making body, the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), to finalise the names of the candidates. Ahead of the PAC meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is scheduled to meet party convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday morning. Senior AAP leader and the party’s Punjab in-charge, Manish Sisodia, will also be present at the meeting. Party sources said that discussions on the names of new candidates may take place before the PAC meeting.

Following the meeting of the party's top leaders, the Aam Aadmi Party's Political Affairs Committee will meet at Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Thursday evening. The names of candidates to be included in the second list will receive final approval at this meeting, and the list may be announced immediately after the meeting. Sources within the party said, “The Aam Aadmi Party is likely to drop some sitting MLAs from its candidate list. Some new faces may be included in the second list. The decision to deny tickets to certain candidates and replace them with new faces has been taken based on survey findings.”

Reviewing Previous Candidate Lists

It may be recalled that on October 31, the Aam Aadmi Party released its first list of candidates for Punjab. All 40 candidates on the first list, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, are sitting MLAs. Speaking to the media after the release of the first list, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that newcomers would also be given an opportunity.

Details of the First Candidate List

Earlier in October, with the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections approaching, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday announced its first list of 40 candidates, naming Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri, Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura and Minister Sanjeev Arora, who is currently in jail, from Ludhiana West. The list also includes several other ministers, including Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Ajnala, Balkar Singh from Kartarpur, Jai Krishan Singh Rouri from Garhshankar, Kulwant Singh from S A S Nagar, and Labh Singh Ugoke from Bhadaur.

The candidates were finalised at a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting convened at the residence of AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema and other PAC members. Other candidates named by the party include Amandeep Kaur Arora from Moga, Amansher Singh (Shery Kalsi) from Batala, Inderbir Singh Nijjar from Amritsar South, Harmeet Singh Sandhu from Tarn Taran, Sarvan Singh Dhun from Khem Karan, Inderjit Kaur Mann from Nakodar, Karambir Singh Ghuman from Dasuya and Jasvir Singh Raja Gill from Urmar. Following the announcement, Kejriwal extended his wishes to the candidates in a post on X, saying, "Best wishes to all candidates." In the 2022 Assembly polls, the AAP won 92 of the state's 117 seats, while the Congress secured 18 seats. (ANI)

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